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A lot of people are familiar with green asparagus and enjoy its mild taste. But other people, especially Europeans, enjoy white asparagus much better.

What is white asparagus? Apart from the colour which is literally white, it is exactly the same as the green asparagus. White asparagus acquired its unique colour because it is grown without light, thus, the plant is unable to photosynthesize. It is considered as a delicacy in many parts of the world which you can grow in your own garden yourself. It is often used in gourmet cooking more than the green kind.

How do you grow white asparagus? There are two ways to do it. The first one is the least expensive: simply mound the asparagus spears with soil. You can either build ridges about six inches in height to put the soil in place or make tunnels around the spears to allow the part buried under the soil to blanch.

The second method involves covering your asparagus with black plastic so it can grow in the dark. You can use hoops to put the black plastic in place. Never remove this plastic so as to efficiently block all the light from touching your asparagus shoots—only do so very briefly during harvest time.

When your asparagus reach a height of at least four inches, it is time to harvest. A good indicator of knowing when to harvest is when the tips of the spear starts peaking through the surface of the ground. To harvest, use a sharp knife to remove the shoot from the base then pull the spear out.

The result: a white, smooth and succulent asparagus. Make sure to chill it immediately so as to avoid fiber from forming.